If you've followed the recent legal skirmishes between Apple and Samsung, you're well aware that intellectual property plays a key role in business innovation. What you may not know is that one of the world's foremost authorities in patent issues--associate professor of management Rosemarie Ziedonis--teaches and researches right here at the Lundquist College of Business. Over the years, the patent powerhouse has consulted with organizations as diverse as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and National Academies of Science. In September 2012, Ziedonis traveled to Belgium to brief European Union officials on "patent thickets"--overlapping intellectual property rights that a company must wade through in order to make improvements and innovations. What's her take on the Apple-Samsung battles? “The smartphone battle raises questions on whether patents stimulate or stifle innovative activity in key sectors the economy," said Ziedonis. “For technology producers and users alike, the financial consequences are large and worth fighting for."